


who hunts to kill

by jasperjorgen



Series: stand and watch it burn [2]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-27
Updated: 2016-03-27
Packaged: 2018-05-29 10:12:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6370747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jasperjorgen/pseuds/jasperjorgen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The origin of Kylo's "personal interests".</p>
            </blockquote>





	who hunts to kill

If he so chose, Kylo Ren could have had much less involvement than he did in the General’s life. But it would have been trying for anyone to ignore the, admittedly intriguing, intelligentsia that floated among the foot soldiers: baseless hyperbole of his exploits and affairs.  _ He was hanging off some Epicanthix’s arm in that bar! He traded narcotics for something even more illicit! His blaster fired a shot, and no one has any idea what it hit!  _ Despite its questionable origins and ostensible lightheartedness, such speculation couldn’t’ve been ignored, even if Kylo  _ had _ been less involved. And it would have been downright impossible for him to tear his eyes away from the General’s haughty, elegant figure: pale, pointed, and draped in black. 

And, unbelievably, the man made no errors. His oration was crisp as a starched collar. He moved with precise, mechanical motion, heart ticking with a singular purpose. Poised atop a stage, he punched the air, not with earnestness but conviction, not passion but vehemence. He was the most revered general the Order had seen in decades. No one would slander him openly, and that’s why everything remained in soft voices behind cupped hands, microscopically printed letters, the hiss of suppressed laughs. Yet, Kylo had witnessed a seed of truth to whatever gossip zipped along liaisons between units, between ranks, between divisions. Knowing as much, he couldn’t dismiss the allegations as easily as he would have liked, or laugh at the jokes like “he stopped at Sullust to visit his family.”

The truth Kylo witnessed was when Hux disembarked from their stops into the purple evening, wearing civilian clothes and adopting the civilian attitude to match. He never returned earlier than the next day’s dawn from the primitive cities he disappeared into, dissolving in the reddish light and rhythmic, alien sounds. No petty officer or mere stormtrooper would even have known where the General’s quarters were located, much less if he had left them or not. Occasionally, after witnessing such an covert escape, Kylo would request telecomm with him and, confirming his suspicions, be met with an  _ unavailable _ . The next day, Hux would reappear on base, with a thin wallet and thin smile, and dismiss him with a “it was the middle of the night, Ren.” As it seemed, the General was almost always engaged in something  _ much _ more interesting in the middle of the night.

Yet rumors remained rumors and could never be proven; even if the ensign could  _ confirm _ the General had withdrawn eighty credits the night before, it was anyone’s guess what or who he had spent it on. It was a bit of an enigma, and Kylo kept turning the possibilities around in his mind, concocting wild conjectures and gathering evidence from the corner of his eye. He’d even once considered following Hux out and around, just to see and stop him thinking about it. He then had to remind himself that he already experienced too much of the General during the day: some nights, the voice that radiated from the base’s speakers was audible even in his dreams. Ever-imperious, Hux had managed to exert control over his mind, the Order’s domain expanded to even Kylo’s own head. When he woke, the sounds resonated, and it drove him mad that the more he wanted to ignore something, the more vividly he did imagine it.

“Attention!” calls the General, unnecessarily. 


End file.
